Helping the Strong
by Brook Uchiha Daughter of Zeus
Summary: Annie has a few problems, and going to St. Rose High School is not helping her deal with them. Can someone help her threw her troubled times?
1. Prologue

**Hey! Aruani fanfic! I redid this chapter from scratch 3 times... **

**Highschool AU, and they're going to be in grade 11. Im gunna REALLY try, since im usually bad at multi chapters. Bare with me, okay? And this is going by Canada school periods, so there's only 4 in a day, but they're in the States (i dont live there so dont hate on me for moving them to the US). **

**_WARNING:_**_OOC-ness, underage drinking, self-harm, smoking and swearing._

**I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin**

**(**This will not be repeated in the following chapters.**)**

—.—

The second semester just started the day before. Armin started to take the bus to school too, since his best friend Eren Jaeger took forever to get ready and get to the blondes house.

The bus came to an abrupt halt in front of St. Rose high school. It was a large, beige building that had three floors. There was a new section in the back two floors tell and two dozen portables around back.

Armin walked inside the school beside Eren. Eren walked Armin to his first period class, which was English with Mr. Hannes, then waltzed to his own homeroom. Right when Armin walked in he knew there was something new. Well, someone. He looked to the back of the room and there was a petite, blonde girl with a messy bun and cold eyes. He glanced at Mr. Hannes who pointed him to the back to the seat beside the girl. Maybe shes nice, he thought hopefully.

Boy, was he wrong.

He sat down beside the girl who never have him a second glance. He saw her icy blue eyes glaring at the clock with her head resting on her hand. She kept fidgeting around like she wanted to leave.

"H-hi." Armin said. "I'm Armin Arlert." She didn't say anything. "What's your name? I haven't seen you around before."

The blonde girl glared at him from the corner of her eye then looked back at the clock. Her fingers kept spinning a pen around, like she was used to keeping her hands moving.

The bell rang, and first period started.

—.—

**I ****_promise_**** the next chapter will be WAY better. This is more of a trial chapter anyway sooooo... Yeah. Im not good with first-chapters. Sorry it sucked. **

**Review?**


	2. Chapter 1

**Last chapter was way too short. Sorry. **

—.—

Mr. Hannes, their teacher just walked in the class when the bell rang. All the students quickly took their seats. He cleared his throat. "Ahh, good morning everyone! We have a new student with us today." He waved towards the back where the blonde girl sat. "Would you care to introduce yourself?"

The girl sighed. She stopped fidgeting for a moment to brush some of her bangs behind her ear. "Annie Leonhardt." She mumbled.

Mr. Hannes grinned. "Well it's nice to meet you Ms. Leonhardt! Anything you would like to share? Like where you went before here?"

"No." She replies bluntly.

Everyone looked at each other, then back at her. Their teachers eyebrows furrowed. "Come on. Your last school?"

She groaned. "_Fine_. I went to St. Maria, but since it burned down I transferred here."

The class started to mumble to each other. St. Maria was a poor high school. It was the school full of students who made the worst choices and had the highest rate than any school for suicide. It was over crowded with students and was said to be the worst high school you could go to, so only the students without much money went there. It recently burned down from an electrical problem. The fire was huge, it was all over the news. About twenty to thirty students died in it.

"Well, thank you for sharing that Annie." He turned around and started writing on the board. "We'll be starting Hamlet today—"

The class went on. Annie kept twisting a pen between her index and middle fingers and her leg kept bouncing up and down. Armin wondered what was bothering her, but decided not to ask because of how she was acting earlier. She didn't seem in the mood to talk at all.

Finally, the bell rang an hour and a half later. Armin saw Annie pack up her things as quick as possible and dash out the door. Sighing, he packed up and headed to his second period class.

...

Not much happened that day. Annie was in his third period class too, but she sat with Mina Carolina there. The two seemed to be polar opposites; Annie never spoke once and seemed conservative, while Mina was talkative and said what was on her mind.

At lunch, Armin sat with his friends Eren and Mikasa. He's known them since he was a little kid and they've always helped him. He sat down and smiled at the two. "Hey guys."

Eren smiled at him. "Hey Armin! You've seen that new girl right? That blonde girl?"

Armin nodded. "She's in two of my classes. She doesn't talk much, and seems kind of jumpy. I can understand her point of view though. She's new and started in the middle of the year."

Eren waved it off. "But starting mid-year. Who does that? Her parents must hate her!"

"Eren, thats rude."

"Sorry."

Armin shook his head. "Never mind that. Is she in any of your guy's classes?"

Eren nodded. "She's in my second period class. Thats it though."

Mikasa tapped her finger on the table. "I heard the teacher call her name yesterday. She must be in my gym class."

"Most likely."

Armin was really curious about Annie though. Starting in the middle of the year? And she didn't seem like the person to open up to others either. He wondered if she was hiding something.

"Hey look!" Eren pointed across the cafe. "There she is! She's with Mina, Thomas, Franz and Hannah."

Armin nodded. "I heard Mina say she'll let Annie sit with her at lunch today. She kind of dragged her there, actually."

"I heard she came from St. Maria." Mikasa piped up.

"Yeah, I heard that too. Armin?"

The boy in question nodded again. "She said that in first."

"How did Maria burn down again? Was it an electrical problem or something?" Eren asked.

"Yeah, it was."

...

The final bell rang and Armin got out of his forth period as quick as he could. He may be smart but he hated Physics, and that was strangely his best subject.

He bolted down the hall and down the stairs to his locker. He packed the unnecessary books away and pulled out his coat, scarf and hat then locked his locker again. At the front gates of Rose, he zipped his winter coat up and started to walk back to his home.

After about five minutes of walking, he looked up and noticed a girl with a jacket (more for springtime) and a hat walking ahead of him. He noticed her small figure and blonde hair and immediately knew it was...

"Annie!"

The girl looked at the car that pulled beside her. Armin looked at the car inquisitively. It was a black 2005 Mustang GT (yes, Armin knew stuff about cars) with two teenaged boys riding in the front. "Come on, we don't have all day! You said you'd skip last. We've been waiting for_ever!"_

Annie huffed. "Yeah, yeah. Just let me in the car Reiner."

Armin stopped dead in his tracks. Reiner? That means Bertholdt is in the car too. Those two caused the worst trouble. They were expelled from St. Rose the year before for almost killing the vice principal. Those two were always smoking or at parties. They were not people you'd want to hang out with. And wait, Annie _knew_ them? How it sounded, she has known them for a while.

He watched Bertholdt, a tall, black haired boy get out of the car to move the seat forwards. Annie crawled in the back seat and Bertholdt got in the car, then the three drove off.

_What?_

—.—

**Those moments when you think you typed 2000 words but it was only like 500. Typing-on-Mobile life. It sucks but F it. Im sleepy so dont blame me for a shitty chapter please. **

**Review :) **


	3. Chapter 2

**Last chapter sucked. Sorry!**

**Im going to ask my friend to beta. **

—.—

Its been a month. A month since Annie started going to St. Rose. A month since he saw her with Reiner and Bertholdt. Armin tried to talk to her in his first and third period classes, but she never responded. Maybe todays the lucky day?

In english class, they summarize a chapter in _To Kill a Mockingbird_. Armin of course finished quickly and handed it in, then sat back in his chair. He glanced at Annie beside him and she was fidgeting again. She kept twisting her pen in her fingers, like it was a bad habit she got into. He decided to try and talk to her.

"Umm... Hey Annie." He whispered to her. She glanced his way, but went back to twisting her pen around. "Uhh... D-did you do the science homework?"

The two's third period class was science, but Annie rarely handed in her work. "No."

He did a double-take. She responded? "R-really? Did you not have time yesterday?"

She didn't respond at first, but she finally decided what to say. "Something like that. I went out."

Armin furrowed his eyebrows. He's known her for a month and spoken to her maybe twice, but she didn't seem like the girl who would forget her work just to go out. "D...did you go out with Reiner and Bertholdt?"

She froze. "What?"

"I asked if you went out with those two."

She shrugged. "Maybe I did. Who cares? I've known them for years."

The blonde boy shuffled around in his seat. "I don't mean to disrespect your friends, but they're always up to no good. They almost killed someone a couple years ago."

"Who're you to decide who I hang out with, Arlert?"

He was about to retort when the bell rang, and Annie quickly left leaving an almost blank sheet of paper behind.

...

The rest of the day was uneventful. He had geography, which he loved. He saw Mina talking to Annie in third and at lunch, and forth was a bore. When the final bell rang he dashed out of class again.

Actually, Armin was earlier to get out to the main gate than he usually was and saw Annie walking in his direction. "Annie!" He called out.

She looked up with a bored expression. She was wearing the same springtime jacket as she was before and a scarf, but that was it for the winter wear. She had to be freezing. "What do _you_ want Arlert?"

He was a bit taken back by the harshness in her words, but ran up to her. "H-hey, aren't you cold? Its negative five out here and thats not the warmest jacket, is it?"

Her eyes slightly widened. Only slightly. "What's it to you?" She tugged at her sleeves. "Just leave me alone." She brushed passed him. Armin paused for a bit before he jogged up to her and walked along side her. "Let me walk you home."

"..."

"Please? It might be more fun with someone else."

"...whatever." She mumbled.

Armin smiled at her, in which she looked in the other direction. The two started walking down the street in an awkward silence. The blonde boy kept stealing glances at the girl. She never looked at him once. If anything she wore a sad and worried expression.

"Umm... Is there anything bothering you Annie? You look a bit, I dont know, distraught?"

Her head snapped up and she looked at him. "Nothing is wrong."

"Are you su–?"

"I said I was _fine!_" She yelled. Her eyes wide and angry.

Armin quickly turned away and they continued to walk in silence for another ten minutes. The two walked through a sketchy part of town. It had cracks all over the roads and worn out apartment complexes. There was trash cans littered on the floor and the leafless trees only made the area look creepier.

Suddenly, Annie stopped walking. Armin had to turn around to quick he almost slipped on ice. She was standing in front of the walkway to an old apartment building. It was a light brown brick building with old, creaky looking doors.

"Bye." She muttered and started walking in the building.

"Annie wait!"

She stopped, but didn't turn to face him. "What?"

He looked at the ground nervously. "Are...are you sure you're alright?"

She was silent for a minute, then finally spoke up. "I'm fine." Then she jogged inside the complex.

—.—

**I made this on 2 separate days. Sorry its late. I had a headache and then i had to study for 3 tests then I started an Aruani oneshot for Aruani week so... Yeah. **

**I dont own To Kill a Mockingbird. I know its a grade 10 book but i dont know what grade 11's read in english :( im a 10-er. **

**Review :)**


	4. Chapter 3

Armin was sitting in Eren's room at his and Mikasa's place. For the rest of the week he was wondering what was wrong with Annie. He knew she said she was fine, but he was good at reading people and by the way she looked, she was obviously not okay. Eren invited Armin over to take his mind off it, but it wasn't helping much.

"Hey, Armin! Stop dying!" Eren yelled. They were playing Call of Duty (Eren's choice) and Armin was so distracted he had died about twenty times. "What's up? Are you still thinking about that Annie girl?"

Armin sighed and tried to kill player _Jerson_ on the game, but got blown up instead by _MarcusRox_. The game ended and Eren took them to the game lobby. He turned around to see Armin completely. "Armin, just forget about her. She obviously doesn't want to talk to anyone. Just leave her alone."

The blonde boy put down his controller and leaned back on his chair. "Thats the thing. I cant."

Mikasa, who was sitting quietly on her laptop on the bed, looked up from the screen and stared at Armin. "You don't like her, do you? She isn't a good influence for you."

The blonde boy scoffed. "Of _course_ not! And what do you mean by that?"

"Well," she sat up, "she's in my class for gym, remember? She went the day she got there and then just started to skip. She never showed up again."

"Maybe she just doesn't like gym? Shes always there in English and Science!"

Eren thought for a moment. "Actually, shes in my math class. She's gone half the time. And she doesn't do her work."

Mikasa gave Armin a pointed look. "But!" Eren shouted. The other two stared at him. "She always got A's on her tests. She sits behind me."

Armin sighed and looked back at Mikasa. "See? She does good. She can't be a bad influence."

"But—"

Armin's phone interrupted her. He reached into his pocket and took out his phone. "Hello?" He answered.

After a few moments, Armin hung up. "That was my grandfather. I have to get dinner. Bye guys!"

...

Armin was walking home, his body cutting through the cold spring air. He cut through the park, which he has done a million times. Plus it was still pretty bright out. He was walking along the path when he heard some shouting ahead. He jogged up the path and peeked from behind a tree.

Guess who he saw? Annie, Bertholdt and Reiner were standing in a small clearing. The two taller boys were screaming at Annie. From the way the two talked and stumbled, they were obviously drunk (who gets drunk at five?).

"_Just drop dead!_" Reiner screamed. "You'll save so many people the trouble!"

Annie glared coldly. Her fists were clenched. She opened her mouth, but shut it and just turned away and stormed away.

"A-Annie!"

The blonde came to a halt a few yards away. She half-turned to stare at him. "What do you _want_, Arlert?"

He shifted. "I-I was just walking through the park, a-and I'm wondering if-f you would like me to w-walk you home? I'm heading t-that way anyway!"

She just scoffed. She tightened her fist. "Just get lost." She started to half-walk half-jog away. Armin ran up to walk along side her. "It's no trouble really! Can I?"

She didn't say a word, which Armin took as a yes. For a few minutes neither of them said a word. It was like when the boy first walked her home. Like last time, Armim kept glancing in her direction. Her expression showed sadness and disappointment.

The two had arrived at the pathway to the apartment complex again. Without a word said, Annie sped up the path.

"W-wait, Annie!" He called out.

She stopped, hand on the doorknob. "What?"

He looked at the back of her head. "Are you alright? From what Reiner said in the park—"

"It was nothing."

"Annie!" He shouted. Armin probably should have been more scared of yelling at her, but he didn't care right now. "It was not fine! He told you to—!"

"I'm fine, alright?! Just get that through your thick skull, Arlert! I don't need your help or anyone else's!" And she stormed into her building, slamming the door behind her.

...

On monday morning, Armin was full of distraught. For the rest of that Sunday he kept thinking of Annie's outbursts and her so-called friends. How could she just brush that off so easily? She acted like it happened to her a lot, but that couldn't be right.

The bell rang for first period to start, and Annie wasn't there. Actually, she never showed up all first period. He thought she might have been sick. I mean, he thought, she wears thin jackets in winter, and she had to be out for at least three hours yesterday. She might have gotten a cold or something.

The bell rang, signalling the end of third period and the beginning of lunch. He stopped at his locker to get his lunch money. He was going to go to Subway for lunch, since his grandfather decided he could buy his lunch. Saying goodbye to Eren and Mikasa, Armin left the school and walked to the nearest Subway. He had to go from the back of the school, through a parking lot, and through a broken fence. It made the trip ten minutes shorter so why not?

Armin got through the fence and started walking past the McDonalds when he saw a little smoke coming from behind a storage container (like the ones that go on boats). Curious, Armin started walking towards the smoke. He turned the corner and saw three holding a cigarette: Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie Leonhardt.

—.—

**Umm... I don't own Subway either. Don't smoke, its bad. Im making it sound like it kills you ****_OH WAIT it does _****:l **

**I have a Beta, but not for THIS chapter. they'll look over the others though i promise. **

**I don't how to feel about this chapter. I really don't. By the way of you want to follow me on tumblr i'm: shinobi-on-titan**

**Review/help me? :D**


	5. Chapter 4

**Annie's POV. Surprised? Hahaha**

—.—

Annie was having a smoke with Reiner and Bertholdt. She already made up with them. Annie didn't think much of what Reiner told her about killing herself. She's been told that a million times in her life, so why should she take it seriously?

She took a long drag from her cigarette. It wasn't exactly her fault she started smoking in the first place. It was her fathers. When she was about six, her mother left them. Her father's first instinct was to buy a bunch of alcohol and cigarettes. When he was drunk he gave her one when she turned ten, and she's been addicted ever since. Her father also beat her from the ages of eleven to fifteen, and she had the scars running all over her back to prove it. Smoking was an outlet from the pain. There was so much pain, she almost never went to school. How she passed the school years, Annie was not sure.

Her mother had forced her to hang out with Reiner and Bertholdt when she was three, so its her fault she still hangs out with them today. Her parents really fucked her up at a young age.

Anyway, she heard a quiet pair of footsteps behind her. She looked up to see Bert and Reiner step back. She turned around to see Armin standing in their only exit. His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. "A-Annie..."

Reiner and Bertholdt looked at each other and ran past Armin, noticing he only cared about Annie. Armin took a step forward. "You sm—"

"Shut up."

He looked taken back. He took another step forwards. "But it—"

"Just get out of here!"

"Annie—!"

"You don't think I know?!" She screamed. Armin's eyes widened. He walked the rest of the way to her, only leaving a couple feet of space between them. He stuck his hand out, palm up. Annie raised an eyebrow and brought the cigarette to her mouth.

"Annie, those things only kill you. Wheres the pleasure in that?"

The blonde girl paused. She looked downwards. "I don't care."

"What?"

"I said I don't care! To hell with life! I seriously don't give a single fuck anymore about my life! I've hated it since I was a little kid!"

His eyes turned pleading. "Annie, I understand—"

"You understand? You _understand?! _What makes you think you know anything about it, _huh?!_" She wanted to stop, but her mouth just kept moving. "What could _you_ know?! Has your _father_ ever told you to drop dead?! Has your _mother_ ever ditched you for _another family?! _No one cares for me! Don't _ever_ say you understand, Arlert!"

If possible, Armin's eyes widened even more. He stood ridged. _Why should he care about me, _Annie thought. _I'm worthless. I've done nothing to be cared for. I'm just a stupid kid._

Armin quickly took the cigarette from her hand. He threw it on the snowy ground and stepped on it. It left black in the snow from the tar. He looked back up to Annie with determined features. "Annie, I may have only known you for a month and a half, but I care. I don't want my friends beating themselves up. Nor do I want them," he looked at the squashed cigarette, "killing themselves in such a horrible and disgusting way."

Now it was Annie's turn for her eyes to widen. Shock was plastered on her face. She slowly clenched her fists beside her. "Friend..." She muttered. "If i was a so-called friend to you, why do we almost never speak? Why don't you ever do something in a friend like way? All you are is a weak human being. All you do is annoy me."

She thought she won this battle. She thought she finally got him to stop talking to her. She wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore. Sadly, that was not the case. Armin smiled. "I would, if you gave me the chance."

Then, he hugged her. She could not process this. First he smiled–a genuine smile–then he hugged her. This wasn't how life went. What was going on? What was this feeling she got in her stomach?

_Why did her heart...?_

—.—

**Boom. I hope this was a sad chapter. Im really sorry if its going too fast. I have no patience and i hate taking things slow (which explains why when i draw it turns out not as good. What you thought i meant a relationship? HAHAHAHAHA! I cant...!) **Oh and i asked my friend to Beta this one cuz i have no idea how DocX works

**_READ THIS!_**** Theres a possibility i may not update for a while. I got my midterms yesterday and... A: D, two C's and a B. (the D isnt too bad since my parents knew i was failing the class...) Sorry!**

**Review?**


	6. Chapter 5

**I finally got an official Beta :D thank you Goldflame!**

—.—

The cold air sliced though Annie's thin jacket. She had her hands firmly placed in the pockets of her black uniform pants. She was thinking about lunch the whole time she was walking home. Why had Armin been so nice to her? He had known her for about a month and she always acted like she hated him, so why did he do anything remotely pleasant?

She heard a car honk ahead of her and looked up from the snowy sidewalk. Reiner's car pulled up to the curb and the passenger window rolled down. Bertholdt rested his arm on the windowsill and Reiner was craning his neck to look out the window to see her.

"Hey, Annie!" Reiner called out. "There's going to be a party later at Oluo's. You comin'?"

She shrugged. "Sure. What time?"

"Around seven." Bertholdt replied.

Annie nodded and said she would go, then waved goodbye and continued to walk down the street. Like usual, she wanted to avoid her problems and go out somewhere to forget about them. The parties helped her forget.

She arrived at the complex doors and pushed them open. They made a loud creak, signifying they needed some oil, badly. The lobby was shabby. It had old furniture and dull lighting from the dust that cloaked the bulbs. The wall's cream coloured paint was starting to peel off, and the carpets were coming up at the corners of the room.

She nodded at the man at the front desk, then proceeded towards the timeworn elevators. They creaked as the doors opened ever so slowly. The interior was small. The walls had little railings along the sides, with a dirty, fingerprinted mirror on the back. The buttons were worn from constant usage. Annie pressed the "8" button and the elevator noisily made its way up. There was a faint 'ding' and the battered doors opened. She stepped out and made her way down the short, narrow hall to her door: 814. Annie slung her bag off her shoulder and dug around until she pulled out her house key. She unlocked the door and swung it open.

There was the faint clatter of dishes in the kitchen. "I'm home!" Annie called, then she shut the door and trudged into her room.

Her bedroom was pretty small–it could be a closet. She had white walls and cream coloured carpet. Her desk was almost clear, save the lamp and a couple overdue assignments. She had a single-person bed shoved in the corner with a bulletin board hanging above it, which was crowded with pictures from when she was a little kid. She had a wooden wardrobe that had all her clothes inside, minus the clothes on the floor. There was a sliding door to the rickety fire escape, showing off the _spectacular_ view of the back of the building across the road.

Annie threw her bag on the bed and rummaged through it. She pulled out her English assignment and math homework and threw them on her desk. She grabbed her cellphone and tossed it onto her pillow. Sighing, she changed out of her school uniform into black jeans and a white and grey striped hoodie. Now she just had to occupy herself for about four hours until she could leave for the party.

...

Annie had an awkward dinner with her father. No one spoke at all, which was normal at her place. After she finished, she got up and put her plate in the sink, then told her father she would be doing her homework for the rest of the night. A complete lie, but he fell for it. She stalked to her bedroom and shut the door, then threw on her jacket. The blonde opened the sliding door as quietly as possible and slipped outside, shutting the door behind her.

After going down eight stories she started walking down the back ally. Annie pulled out a cigarette and lighter. She stuck the cigarette in her mouth and shielded the flame from the cold winds to light the stick. Annie continued her trek down the street. To get to Oluo's, she just had to walk through the "rich" neighbourhood, a walk that took about fifteen minutes.

The sun was still out tricking people into thinking it was warmer, but it was as cold as the North Pole. She shoved a hand in her pocket and took a long drag from her cigarette, the heat radiating from it keeping her warmer. She slowly walked through the Rich neighborhood. She knew she would never live anywhere close to here, but she could dream. The brick buildings and driveways were snow-free and the cars looked like they were brand new. She hopped up the curb and started walking on the sidewalk instead of the road. Even the sidewalks had no slush or snow. It seemed unrealistic.

Annie's phone buzzed. She pulled it out and checked her messages. Bertholdt had texted her wondering where she was. The blonde had to admit, he was really nice. He only got expelled from Rose because Reiner dragged him along with his "prank". Reiner influenced him a lot more than he let on. He never drank until Reiner told him to, or smoked until Reiner said it was okay. She quickly texted she would be there and sent it, then she ran into someone. She tumbled to the ground and her cigarette flew to the ground, as well as her phone.

"Oh, sorry." A voice said. She looked up to see Eren Jaeger from her math class. He held his hand out to help her up, but she brushed it away and stood up by herself.

Eren cocked his head to the side. "Hey, you're that Annie girl from my math class! You live around here?"

She glared at him. "No."

His expression turned confused. "What do you mean? Then why're you around the area?"

"I'm just passing through." She mumbled as she pushed past him.

Eren reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Hey! You dropped your..."

He bent down to pick up the cellphone she had dropped earlier And handed it to her. His eyes flickered to the fallen cigarette. His eyebrows furrowed as he gave Annie back her electronic. "Is that—"

"Bye."

"H-hey!"

But she had already stormed away.

...

When she finally arrived at the party, Bertholdt ran up to her. "H-hey! You're late! I-i thought something happened! I mean, it's not like you live far and—"

"Bert, I'm fine. Just ran into someone on the way here." She wanted to add how it was literal, but didn't want to worry the tall boy. He could be very protective of her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She rolled her eyes.

He made a face. "Alright. Reiner's waiting inside. I think he's drunk though."

Annie shrugged. "We've dealt with a drunk Reiner since we were twelve. Come on."

—.—

**I rewrite this chapter about 5 times, and sent it to my beta twice (once i guess. I resent the ending twice) and i have to say, this was the longest by far. I don't think it was the best though. **

**Party will be next chapter. Probably Armin's POV. Huh? What's he doing there?! Surprise :D**

**Review :3**


	7. Chapter 6

**Casually makes my friend wait two or so weeks for this ;D**

—.—

"Hey Eren." Armin greeted. He had walked to Eren's house so he could help the boy with his math. Eren opened the door to his blonde friend. "Hey Armin! Come on in!"

Armin stepped inside and carefully took off his shoes. Eren's house was nice. It looked expensive, yet cozy at the same time. The only way they could afford this was because his father, Grisha Jaeger, was a doctor.

Eren pulled his friend up the carpeted stairs and walked down the hallway to his bedroom. His room was pretty big. It had a queen-sized bed against the left wall, and a flatscreen TV hung across from it. A couple beanbags were tossed carelessly beside the table full of PS3 games. There was a huge window on the far wall with a wonderful view of the rest of the neighbourhood, and an oak desk sat beside it in the corner of the room, fit for three people to use at once.

Eren grabbed an office chair and rolled it beside the desk and sat down. Armin took the second chair and settled in his own seat.

A half hour later, what was supposed to be studying turned into 'story time'. Eren kept distracting both of them with what had happened in his math class today.

"–and then Jean started talking to Sasha, but the class quieted down so all you hear is her say 'I will steal your first born child' in this scary voice and my teacher yelled at Jean. He refused to go to the office so the teacher had to call his VP. It was hilarious!"

Armin just nodded. "That's great, Eren. You should really be doing your work–"

"I mean even _Annie_ cracked a smile!"

Armin shut up. "She did?"

Eren smirked at him. "Yeah, but it was a really small smile. I barely saw it. Maybe she does have emotion!"

Armin rolled his eyes at his friend. "Cut it out, Eren. Now come on, we–"

The brunette's phone buzzed. Eren quickly got up and walked to his bed to grab his phone to check his message. After a few seconds he typed a few words and locked his phone again then shoved it in his pants pocket. He turned to face Armin. "Sorry Armin. I have to give Connie some study notes for science."

"But–"

"Come on!" Eren picked up his backpack that he had previously thrown on the floor. "We need to head to this guy Oluo's party to drop it off. Only for a minute!" Eren dashed out the door to get his shoes on.

Armin sighed. This was turning out to be a waste of a trip to his friend's. He walked down the stairs to pull on his shoes. Eren already had his coat and shoes on. Armin pulled on his own coat and hat. Just as they were about to leave they heard footsteps from the kitchen. Mikasa walked out in a grey hoodie and sweatpants and raised an eyebrow at the pair. "Where are you two going?"

Eren groaned. "We're giving Connie something real quick. We'll be back soon so don't worry about it, 'kay?"

Mikasa sighed. "Just be careful."

"Whatever!" He called as he dragged Armin out the door.

...

"So why is Connie at Oluo's party anyway?" Armin asked. "Isn't Oluo in grade twelve?"

Eren nodded. "Yeah but Connie's older sister dragged him along. She knows him."

Armin only nodded in response. The rest of their walk was in a comfortable silence. When they arrived, there were people on the front lawn either passed out or talking with slurred speech. The house itself looked pretty expensive with red bricks and a black roof. Hanging off the roof were flowerpots. Two of them fell to the ground and broke. The door was a fancy french door and the front porch had white pillars from the railing to the roof above. There was music blaring so Armin could hear what was playing clearly. He was surprised no one had called the police yet.

Eren grabbed his wrist and led him inside. It was overcrowded and loud; Armin could barely hear himself think. He just allowed himself be dragged along through the crowd.

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "There's Connie. Stay here. Wait never mind, go do something! Have fun! I'll go find you later!"

"Wait, Eren—!"

But the brunette had already disappeared in the crowed. Armin groaned. He didn't want to come in the first place, but now Eren had ditched him. What was he supposed to _do_, anyway? He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and stalked through the main floor, taking in his surroundings. He looked at the different kinds of people. Some were lounging on the furniture talking like normal people, some couples were making out in the corners of the room, and some were full out drunk, walking or dancing in a funny way and talking in slurred voices.

He sighed, wondering why he hadn't just gone home when Eren said they were going to a party. Armin walked to the kitchen, which looked like it had less people than the rest of the house. Right when he walked in, a beer bottle that had been thrown had shattered against the wall beside his head.

"C-calm down, Reiner!"

Armin turned away from the glass and to the voice. Behind the counter was Bertholdt, Annie (both looking sober), and a very drunk Reiner. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was extremely messy, and half his jacket had fallen off his shoulder.

"D...don't tell me w-what tah do!" He shouted. He picked up another beer from the counter and popped it open. Annie swiped it from his clutch and put it on the counter, farther away from the tall blonde boy. "H- *_hic_* hey! Gimme tha-at back!" He lunged for it, but Annie grabbed it before him and pulled it away. Reiner stood to his full height, towering over Annie. "Gimme the fucking beer!"

"No! Reiner you've—"

Reiner glared at her and reeled his arm back. He punched her in the gut and her eyes widened as she let the beer go. She stumbled a few feet back into the fridge. She held her stomach in pain, her eyes tightly shut. "_Reiner!_" Bert yelled. He tried to restrain the blonde boy but Reiner just pushed him back. Armin's eyes widened. He rushed forward and grabbed ahold of the burly boy's arm. Reiner shook him off and propelled Armin back into Bert, forcing the two to fall over. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He knew Reiner was a jerk but he never thought he'd hurt Annie, even drunk.

Annie opened an eye, and looked in his direction. They made eye contact and the first thing Armin noticed hidden in her eyes was desperation. While she was distracted, Reiner stepped forwards and kicked Annie in the shin. She yelped and stumbled. Reiner grabbed her hair, but before he could do anything more Bert had pushed Armin off of his body and jumped on Reiner again. Bertholdt pulled the drunk boy back and gave him a punch in the face for good measure. Reiner then passed out from the amount of alcohol he had consumed.

Armin got up and rushed towards the petite blonde girl, who was now sitting on the floor. Bertholdt positioned Reiner so his back against the counter then crawled to Annie's side. "Annie!" Bertholdt called. "Are you alright?!"

Armin was looking at her with wide eyes. He didn't really know what to say. Annie opened her eyes and looked at the two boys. "I'm fine." She grumbled, then tried to stand up. Annie yelped and fell back down, holding her shin. "Shit." She muttered under her breath.

Armin stood up and offered his hand. "Here, Annie. Let me help." Annie looked up at him, cobalt eyes on crystal. She took his hand and he pulled her up. Bertholdt stood afterwards. "Annie, I can give you a ride back to your place. Come on."

She nodded. Bert knelt for a moment and Armin assisted her as she climbed on Bert's back. When the tall boy straightened, he looked down at Armin. "Thanks. Help me get her to the car, would you?"

Armin nodded. "Anything. But what about...?" He looked pointedly at the passed-out Reiner.

Bertholdt made a face. "I'll get him once Annie's in the car."

Armin nodded, and the three made their way threw the crowd. Armin opened the front door and they walked down the stairs to a deep red Ford Escape. Bert reached in his pocket and threw Armin the keys. He quickly unlocked the back doors and opened them, then laid Annie on the back seat. Bert huffed. "I'll be right back. I'm gunna go get Reiner. Hopefully he won't wake up until we drop Annie off."

Armin nodded, and the taller boy ran inside. Armin looked inside the car at the blonde girl. She had fallen asleep, and she looked so peaceful and beautiful. She had a small, barely noticeable smile across her lips, so she looked like she was having a pleasant dream.

Armin's eyebrows furrowed. He didn't understand. How did they take this so lightly? How could Annie fall asleep so quickly after being in obvious pain? Armin was worried about what would happen to her. Would she have to go to the hospital? Maybe I'm worrying too much, he thought.

Moments later the dark haired boy was back, carrying the burly blonde with an arm around his waste and keeping the other boy's arm around his shoulder. Bert threw him in the passengers seat and buckled him up, then shut the back and passenger doors. Bertholdt sighed and turned to Armin. "Thank you again for your help."

"It was no problem, really. I didn't want Reiner to hurt her," Armin shifted from one foot to the other. "But tell me, has this happened before?"

Bertholdt looked down. "Yes, it has. The three of us have been friends since we were in kindergarden. Reiner, though, has been drinking since he was twelve. He's always had this problem. We try to avoid it, but it doesn't always...work out."

"What do you mean_ 'work out'_?"

"I'll see you some other time." He said in a hurry, and smiled weakly at Armin. He then walked around the car into the drivers side and started the car. He pulled out of the driveway and drove the two blondes to their respective homes.

As Armin watched the car disappear down the road, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Looking over, he saw Eren huffing with his other hand on his knee. "D...dude!" He huffed. "I've been...looking...for you! What are you...doing out here?"

Armin glanced back down the street. A worried expression was plastered on his face. "I'll explain some other time. I'm heading home. Its been a long night."

—.—

**The stories Eren tells Armin about math class were actual events that happened in my class the other day, so you cant say i pulled them out of the blue.**

**Do you hate me? Its possible. I dono i mean she only got beat up a LITTLE... Im a good person. **

**Review?**


	8. Chapter 7

**This took forever didn't it?**

—.—

Armin walked into his English class early Monday morning. Yet another weekend went by where he thought about Annie and her well-being. He lost sleep thinking about her. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her face. He saw how her eyes flickered to a look of desperation. He could not for the life of him get that out of his head.

The bell rang, and his mind quickly snapped back into reality. His eyes drifted to the front of the class where Hannes had started the lesson. He looked to his left and saw Annie had yet to show up. His eyebrows furrowed. Was she alright? Did she stay home? Were her injuries worse than he had originally thought?

A piece of paper landed on his desk. Hannes had given them a worksheet to finish, and they had to hand it in by tomorrow morning. Armin gazed down at the sheet to see that they had started the greek mythology unit. He sighed through his nose. Maybe the sheet will calm my nerves, he thought.

After answering all the questions (about eighty percent had to do with Zeus and his millions of lovers) he handed in the sheet. Hannes nodded at him as usual and told him he could do whatever he wanted for the remaining half hour.

"Actually, sir? My stomach kind of hurts. May I go to the nurses office?"

Hannes gave him a quick nod and told him to take his bag with him. Armin quickly packed up. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Eren with a worried look. "Hey," he whispered, "are you alright?"

Armin gave a nod in reassurance. "I'm alright. Just a stomachache. See you later."

Before Eren could say another word, Armin had already bolted from the classroom. He walked down the stairs to the first floor to drop his bag off in his locker, then he took a look around the school. In all honesty, Armin did feel kind of sick. The blond boy was pretty sure it was because of Annie. Armin was thinking if all the possibilities of her condition. Looking at her, she didn't look very hurt. Besides the two hits she had received, she was in good condition.

While thinking about that, he opened the doors to go outside for a walk. He shoved his hands in his pants pockets to keep them warm. It was still pretty chilly out, but it was still warmer than what it had been a few days ago.

He followed the sidewalk to the back of the school. The parking lot was pretty big. It had two large sections with a gate on the far side by the road. The boy peered across the parking lot to see a head of golden blonde hair and a simple jacket. He stalked across the lot and around the fence. Armin slowly crept up to the blonde and realized it was a cigarette between their fingers. Noticing who it was, he slowly reached out. He brought his hand in front of the other blonde and swiped the cigarette from their mouth. He took a couple steps back just as they spun around, ready to punch him.

"Arlert!" Annie yelled, surprise in her eyes.

"Annie!" Armin shouted back, despite the short distance between the two. "I thought you said you would stop smoking."

The shorter girl scoffed. "I _never_ said I would stop smoking, Arlert."

Armin made a face. "But these things kill you! Thats all they really do, besides get people addicted. The nicotine—"

Annie waved him off. "Yeah yeah, no need to _lecture_ me. I know all that already. The nicotine, the tar, et cetera."

Armin looked at the cigarette in his hand. "So why do you smoke?"

She shrugged carelessly. "Habit. Since I was, what, ten?"

Armin's eyes widened. Ten? She's been smoking since she was ten? What had caused her to start? And why? Annie stepped forward and tried to grab the cigarette, but Armin just held it farther from her. "Why weren't you in first period?"

Annie looked away. "Nosey, are we? I wasn't in the mood to go, that's all."

The blond boy sighed. He looked back at the cigarette. "You know I think I have a way to break you from your habit, free of charge."

The petite girl looked up at him and crossed her arms. "Fine. Lets hear it then."

"Alright," he began, "every time I catch you with a cigarette, _or pack_ of them, you need to tell me a fact about yourself. Anything, but no repeating yourself."

She raised an eyebrow. "How's that going to stop me?"

"Trust me."

She thought for a minute. "Fine. But," she reached out as fast as lightning and took the cigarette, "don't plan on catching me with them often."

He smirked. "Fine by me. So, one fact?"

She shrugged. "Guess so." She took a drag from her cigarette. "What are you thinking of?"

Armin playfully tapped his index finger against his chin and he had a wide smile on his face. Is it really possible that he grew closer to Annie Leonhardt in just five minutes? "When's your birthday?"

Annie rolled her eyes. "That was a waste of a question. It doesn't matter what day I was born."

"Annie...?" He asked expectantly.

She sighed. "March twenty-second."

Armin's eyes widened. "Wait, but that's—"

"Yeah, that's today. So?"

He smiled. "S...so is that why you skipped first? To celebrate somehow?"

Annie raised an eyebrow. "No. I just didn't want to go."

"Oh..." He stayed silent for a minute. "Umm...do you want to go back to school now? There's not much time left."

She shrugged and threw the cigarette on the floor, then stomped on it to snuff out the ember. Annie walked around the fence and started to stroll towards the school again. Armin noticed she was slightly limping. He jogged after her, almost slipping on the damp grass. When he caught up to her, he slowed down to her pace. "So what're you doing for your birthday?"

She shoved her hands in her pockets. "I'll probably go out with Bert and Reiner—"

"What?!"

Not expecting the outburst, she jumped. She directed her wide eyes to stare at the taller boy's. "Wha—"

"Are you kidding me, Annie?" He shouted. He looked furious, but it didn't seem directed towards her. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Hanging out with Bertholdt is okay, but you _cannot_ talk with Reiner again! Look at what he did to you!" He pointed at her leg.

She shifted her weight off her bad leg and looked away. "I can do what I want to. You can't stop me."

He looked at the ground. "Annie..."

"Let it go, Arlert."

He stayed quiet for a few minutes. He knew he just went from possibly talking to her more, to maybe not getting a reply again. He didn't want that. As an attempt to break the silence, he laughed nervously. "You know, you don't have to call me Arlert. You can call me Armin."

She didn't respond at first. He was afraid he wouldn't get an answer at all, but she huffed. "I cant see myself doing that."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, really." She shrugged. "Habit, I guess."

They were silent. Armin jogged ahead a few paces and pulled open the door. Annie paused for a second in front of the door, the walked in followed by the blond boy.

"I-I can walk you to your class if you'd like."

"You expect me to go to class?"

"Uhh," he scratched the back up his head, "do you have a test?" She nodded. He smiled nervously. "Then you should go to class."

She looked at him skeptically. "Where's your class?"

"First floor."

"Its alright then." She said. "My class is on the third floor." She started towards the staircase without him, but he ran up to walk along side her again. "It's no trouble, really."

She scoffed. "This is like when you first walked me home. You're as annoying and pushy as ever."

"Oh...sorry then."

She face palmed. "I'm joking around, Arlert."

"Oh!" He smiled widely. "So I'm not annoying and pushy?"

She made a face at him but did not say a word. She stopped in front of the classroom door and put her hand on the doorknob. "See you in third." She muttered as she quickly slipped in her class. The bell rang a couple seconds after. Crap, he thought as he turned on his heel and ran back down the stairs.

...

Armin had arrived to his class late, but the teacher wasn't even there. A couple minutes after Armin settled in his seat the teacher walked in. It turns out they had a supply teacher, which means almost no work or a movie.

The supply was an older teacher, and introduced himself as Mr. Pixis. "Turn to page three hundred and ninety-four in your textbooks and do questions one to eight," he commanded. Armin pulled out his math textbook and turned to the page.

He was in the academic math class, and since he knew Annie had math second period too he knew she would have had to be in applied like Eren. He started to read the instructions on the page assigned to them when someone nudged his shoulder. He turned to the right to see Marco Bodt looking at him with curious eyes. "Hey, Armin. Why're you late?" He whispered.

Armin sighed. "My locker wouldn't open." He replied. It wasn't a total lie. On the way to class he had stopped by his locker. He just didn't have trouble opening it.

Marco nodded at him. "I hate it when that happens. At least Mr. Pixis was late too."

He bobbed his head and went back to work for the rest of the period.

...

Annie was sitting at the lunch table with Mina, Thomas, Hannah and her boyfriend Franz. The four were used to her icy demeanor and spoke freely around her. Mina always ranted on to her and tried to include her in the conversation. Even the other three spoke to her. Annie was always surprised how they spoke to her and smiled at her when she was just there, never returning the gesture.

"Annie? Are you listening?"

Annie jumped ever-so-slightly and turned towards Mina. "What?" She asked.

Mina smiled at her. "I asked why you always skip most of your classes. You go to science a lot, heck Hannah says you go to English more than Math or Gym. Why?"

Annie raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

Thomas shrugged. "We're just curious."

Annie sighed through her nose. "No reason in particular. I just don't like those classes." She looked at the clock on the wall. "I gotta go. Bye." She stood up and grabbed her bag, then walked towards the cafe doors. Mina ran up beside her with her bag too. "There has to be a reason though." She tapped her finger against her chin and looked thoughtful. "Who's in both of those classes with you?"

Annie didn't say anything. She just kept walking to her locker. While the two walked, Mina rattled off a bunch of names Annie didn't know.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "What about Armin Arlert, huh? He's in both of those classes and I thought I saw you talking to him outside during first period today!"

Annie made a face. "Hell no."

Mina looked at her and grinned widely. "You answered to that one!"

"That means nothing." Annie grumbled, but Mina ignored her remark and kept talking. "It would make sense. He's smart and kinda cute, ya know? Oh my god you two would be so cute together!"

"What?!" Annie yelled, the slightest tinge of pink across her pale cheeks.

Mina laughed and hugged her from the side. "That's soooo cute! Little-Annie has a crush!"

"It's not a crush!" Annie shouted.

"And look you're getting all defensive! You know this may be the most emotion I've seen you show since you started here!" She joked.

Annie half-glared at her friend. "_Tch_...whatever. I'm going to class."

Mina unhooked herself from her friend and just smiled down at her. "Yeah, sure. See you later, Annie!"

Annie trudged to her classroom. Did she like Armin? No, obviously not. It was impossible.

_Wasn't it?_

—.—

**Hello! I am currently dead because my friend killed me with a donut full of love and death sooooo... Like the chapter?**


	9. Chapter 8

**Merry (late) Christmas and a Happy New Year!**

—.—

Throughout the rest of the day, Armin was in a pretty good mood. He got to talk to Annie and he may have even helped with her smoking problem! His day was going so well actually that even his physics class didn't bring him down.

When the final bell rang he packed up his books and dashed to his locker. He shoved the unnecessary binders and papers in his locker and relocked it, then sped to the front gates. Armin wanted to be able to walk Annie home that day. Just a little something for her birthday. Despite the chilly weather, maybe she would let him take her to that new ice cream parlour close to the school as a present.

The blond boy pushed open the main doors and finally reached the front gate. He sat down on the bench a couple yards away and waited for Annie to get there. He was fiddling with his fingers when he saw the blonde-haired girl walk out the gate and dig in her pocket hurriedly. She pulled out a stick and stuck it in her mouth, then lit it with the lighter in her hand while shielding the flames from the wind. A look of relief spread across her face as she inhaled. Armin stood up and walked up behind her. Like he did earlier, he reached forwards and stole the cancer stick from her fingers. Only this time he did not evade her fist fast enough and it collided with his gut.

"Ouch!" He yelped.

Annie's eyes widened a fraction. "Arlert? What are you _doing?_"

Armin stood back to his full height and rubbed his stomach with his free hand. "Ugh, I was hoping you'd let me walk you home...?"

Annie made a face at him and swiped the cigarette from his grasp. She stuck it back in her mouth with shaky hands. Whether it was from the cold or the addiction, Armin was not sure. "No way."

"B-but..." He stuttered. "I-I could take you to that new Dairy Queen down the road. For your birthday!"

"No way." Annie repeated. "I don't have any money on me, and I won't end up paying you back."

The boy shifted from foot to foot. "Well, it would be more of a present. You wouldn't have to pay me back."

She didn't say anything.

"Come on, Annie." Armin pleaded. "Please?"

She looked at him in the eyes and her gaze softened. "Fine. Just this once."

Armin's face broke out into a grin.

...

"Oh yeah, Annie?"

The two were sitting in a booth at Dairy Queen eating their blizzards. Armin had ordered a banana split blizzard and Annie got a mint Oreo.

"Hm?" She answered as she poked the last half of her blizzard with her spoon.

"You forgot to tell me a fact about yourself. For when I caught you smoking at the gates." Annie glanced up to see Armin smiling at her. "Hm, I was hoping you forgot." She grumbled. "What is it you want to know?"

Armin thought for a moment, his mind debating what to ask her. He didn't want to get too personal yet, but he didn't want to ask her something stupid like what her favourite colour was.

"Why do you always skip class?" He asked. "Be honest."

Annie stared at him. "That's what you're going to ask? Wow, alright." She seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I just don't want to go. I pass the class by getting A's on my tests anyway. I don't see the point."

The blond boy looked at her in wonder. "But how do you pass if you don't go to your classes?"

Annie smirked at him. "Maybe you should have asked _that_ instead. You'll have to catch me again." She picked up her cup and messenger bag and stood, then started to walk out of the parlour. Armin sat there for a second then quickly lifted his bag and blizzard. He followed Annie out of the Dairy Queen and together the two strolled down the road. Like always, Armin snuck glances at Annie. She kept her gaze on the sidewalk. It may have just been his imagination, but he swore he saw her eyes flicker in his direction once or twice. He stared into her blue eyes, mesmerized by the icy colour of them. He was so enchanted that he ran into a light post with a loud _thunk_.

"Ouch!" He yelled for the second time that day as he rubbed his forehead.

Beside him, Annie giggled. Armin whipped his head in her direction. She had her hand over her mouth and a playful glint in her eyes. She took the hand off her mouth to reveal a small smile. Still rubbing his forehead, he beamed at her. "Hey, you smiled!"

Shock was visible on her face. She immediately replaced it with her normal stoic expression and looked away, but a faint blush was visible on her cheeks.

Armin felt disappointed that she stopped smiling. He thought it was a beautiful sight and was sad that he couldn't see it that much. Maybe he could change that later on. "Come on," he said, "lets just get you home."

She nodded and they continued down the street. They finally arrived at the apartment complex and paused in front of the little sidewalk to the door. "See you." She muttered as she walked up the sidewalk. Armin hesitated for a second, but jogged up to walk beside her. Annie raised an eyebrow at him. He smiled at her kindly. "I might as well walk you up to your apartment, right?"

Annie shrugged. "Do whatever." She said. Annie pulled open the door and the blonde's walked inside into the warmth. Annie said nothing as she walked through the run-down lobby and entered the elevator. Annie pressed the_ '8' _button and the elevator shuddered and moved upward. Armin was slightly nervous. One reason being he was in a small space with Annie, and the other being he feared the elevator would start falling back down. Finally there was a ding and the doors creaked open and they both walked out of the death trap. Note to self, Armin thought, always use the stairs.

Armin escorted Annie down the hallway until she stopped walking. She dug through her bag until she found her house key. She shoved the key in the lock and turned it until she heard a click, then opened the door a crack. She turned back to stare at him in the eyes. "Uh, thanks for walking me home I guess. Bye."

He smiled fondly at her. "No problem at all. Bye!"

Annie pushed the door open the rest of the way and walked inside. A second before she shut it he saw what her apartment looked like. It was a small area that looked like a living room. There was a small couch with a TV, and the kitchen was somewhere hidden behind a wall. He heard Annie yell "I'm home!" before the door slammed shut.

Armin's smile was still plastered across his face as he skipped down the hall to the staircase.

—.—

_Happy (short) chapter :D woop woop! Haha hope you liked it. _

_Review!_


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